Population of orangutans in E. Kalimantan declining<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government estimates the number of
\norangutans in East Kalimantan to be 300, warning that the
\norangutan population is dwindling as a result of forest
\nexploitation activities.<\/p>\n
Head of the provincial office of the Natural Resource
\nConservation Agency, Budiman Amien, said in the East Kalimantan
\ncapital of Samarinda on Wednesday that the primates were also
\nthreatened by tuberculosis and hepatitis, which were prevalent.<\/p>\n
Budiman said more and more orangutans were moving from the
\njungle to plantation areas, indicating that they are unable to
\nbear the increasing pressure on their natural habitat.<\/p>\n
\"Cases of orangutans encroaching on residential areas are
\ncomparable to those of elephants going on the rampage in Lampung
\n(south Sumatra) villages because logging threatens their
\nsurvival,\" Antara quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n
East Kalimantan's forests have been divided into numerous
\nforestry concession areas.<\/p>\n
The government has established an orangutan rehabilitation
\ncenter near a protected forest in Samboja, about 60 kilometers
\nsouth of Samarinda. The center re-educates orangutans previously
\nkept as pets, then sets them free in the nearby Sungai Wein
\nprotected jungle. The center also carries out research.<\/p>\n
There have been proposals to make orangutans a tourist
\nattraction, in support of the local government's campaign to
\npromote eco-tourism.<\/p>\n
But Budiman is not enthusiastic about the proposal, saying
\nthat the animals are highly vulnerable to diseases like
\ntuberculosis and hepatitis, against which their bodies have no
\nresistance.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Samboja orangutan rehabilitation center, Mulyono
\nOmon, said many of the 165 orangutans that the center has
\nrehabilitated have hepatitis or tuberculosis, and that may have
\ngot it from their former owners.<\/p>\n
\"The absence of any resistance against tuberculosis and
\nhepatitis makes the orangutans contract the diseases very
\neasily,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The center boasts a clinic possessing sophisticated medical
\nequipment, like surgery kits and X-ray cameras -- luxuries
\nunavailable at human clinics in the area.<\/p>\n
Of the 165 orangutans the center has re-educated, 84 have been
\nset free into the Sungai Wein forest, which is becoming a popular
\ntourist destination.<\/p>\n
Mulyono said another 64 orangutans, 30 of which were regained
\nfrom Taiwan smugglers several years ago, would be released soon
\nin Arang Mentus because there were already too many in Sungai
\nWein. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/population-of-orangutans-in-e-kalimantan-declining-1447893297",
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